Resonate Magazine | Australian Music Centre

Image: Image by Europe Jazz Network.  

The 11th European Jazz Conference was held in Bari, Italy. A beautiful coastal city in Southern Italy that looks out onto the Adriatic Sea. Its vibrancy and diverse population made for the perfect setting for lively debate and discussion around this year's theme: "Somewhere Called Home" and the contributions that migrants and global movements of people make to jazz and improvised music and culture. It was a timely theme given that governments globally are passing inhumane immigration laws that are catastrophically impacting people seeking a new home. So this year's conference was a chance for programmers and curators to take a detailed look at how to make curated musical events more representative of community, safer spaces for all, and richer with multicultural perspectives.

This was my first time attending a European Jazz Conference, so I didn't know what to expect other than panel discussions, a meeting place for European jazz professionals and showcase performances featuring local performers. But as the conference unfolded, I discovered so much more to this annual gathering. I was very grateful to attend this year's conference as an Artistic Associate of the Australian Music Centre, to meet with European jazz and improvised music programmers and curators, but also to learn about the most pressing issues that Europe faces in our current climate in relation to geopolitics, diversity and the impacts of AI and upcoming technology.

Norma Winstone's Somewhere Called Home utters: "Now trumpets still echo / In rooms far away / I learn a new language / To curse a new day." This was to be the theme of this year's conference and contextualised the keynote address: Home In The In-Between delivered by Italian-Palestinian artist, Nabil Bey Salameh. Nabil's words were poetic, his delivery sublime, and his message clear and moving. His address was delivered in Italian, and translated in English:

"…jazz is not just a genre, but an ethical gesture

…In times like these-marked by unpunished genocides, by wars and injustice,
by walls disguised as humanitarian actions-
we, artists, organisers, listeners,
have the duty not to remain silent
And not to allow ourselves to be numb."

These powerful words opened up some of our most urgent conversations, including the Europe Jazz Network's stance on Gaza. The discussion was emphatic, but also open. It was respectful, but strong. Having this conversation early on in the conference meant that the music and discussions that followed sat beneath the umbrella of an unstable global environment, where we each have a responsibility to make more ethical and humane choices. Most importantly though, many delegates and artists emphasised that unity on these topics is potentially not possible; and given our differences, not the goal here. Rather, it is coming together respectfully to have a conversation that is worthwhile. And I was moved by how passionately Europe Jazz Network members leaned in deeply to the discussion. The Europe Jazz Network demonstrated this with grace and leadership. Award-winning alto saxophonist and cultural curator Soweto Kinch reminded us that even when we are striving to create democratic and open spaces in which to improvise musically, there is a dance between leading, following, listening and speaking.

I attended panel discussions on the social and political role of curators and programmers where it was interesting to hear some lively debate between whether politics has a place in music performance. As a woman in jazz, the very nature of being in my body while performing jazz and improvised music is political, so I was deeply curious as to why we would even want to remove these political experiences from music. Now more than ever, I think that music should teach us that politics is not something to run away from. Politics - if we delve into etymology for a moment - has its roots in citizens, in the city, and in people. If we remove the web of community from our music-making, we isolate ourselves and our audiences. Still, I was grateful for the lively debate. There were some interesting panels discussing gender disparity in music, new technology and the impact on music making, and a great discussion about what jazz really is with rich definitions and historical backgrounds giving us all something juicy to think about. I found all of the discussion points relevant, timely and invigorating. All the while, we were sitting in the exquisite Teatro Piccinni - a beautiful architectural tribute to eighteenth-century composer Niccolò Piccinni. The juxtaposition between history and aesthetic beauty, with discussions around social justice, was not lost on me. And again I came back to pondering who we are making art for; and consequently, who we are excluding.

Conference hosts Puglia Sounds curated a masterful live music program. Highlights included jazz violinist Anaïs Drago's "Relevé" which was an eclectic, and deliciously chaotic trio incorporating extended techniques and Zappa-esque influences. I really loved Europe Jazz Network's Zenith Award Winners SC'ÖÖF who deconstructed the concept of European jazz, driving laptop and timbral experimentation alongside rugged grooves and industrial loops. Pianist Esmeralda Sella brought in a collaborator whose dance choreography was arresting and deeply moving. And Matteo Paggi's "GIRAFFE" was a superb display of modern jazz at its most dynamic. Live music could be heard throughout the old town - from the church bells, to the local with the accordion serenading tourists drinking spritzes. There was a delightful fringe festival and outdoor piazza concert during the evenings and I was struck by the number of locals and delegates in attendance of all ages and backgrounds. Each of us holds our own stories, but we were together in this one moment - all of us there for music.

Nabil says:

"The power of music is not to stop wars.

No song can ever replace a peace treaty.
Yet music has a rare gift: it can stop time, even if only for an instant.
In that instant, a different space is born-
a space for reflection and understanding,
for empathy and awareness."

This year's Europe Jazz Conference offered many moments to stop and reflect. As an improvising violinist coming to Bari from Australia, I asked myself what role jazz and improvised music has to play in our communities. Our government has recently passed extreme immigration laws on stolen lands. There is a rise in violent protests against multiculturalism and immigration. Jazz and its origins lie kilometres and kilometres away from our shores. Yet, jazz and its legacy of social justice, listening, risk taking and boundary pushing, holds some answers to how we grapple with our identity/identities moving forward. If only we could stop time and let a conversation run free.

Read Nabil Bey Salameh's keynote address in full here.

Xani Kolac is contemporary violinist and composer trained in jazz/improv at the Victorian College of the Arts. She incorporates live looping, electronic effects and fully improvised pieces.

Her most recent work "Stamina" premiered at the 2024 Melbourne International Jazz Festival and was a finalist for this year's Art Music Awards for Jazz/Improv Performance of the year. Her latest album "Keep Moving" is nominated for the Australian Music Prize.